Beyond the Stars
by Zeonzen
Summary: Taking place directly after the events of CoM, during 365/2 days, a group of five young boys are given another chance...
1. Prelude

**Prelude**

From the Ashes

Floating in an endless void, surrounded by deafening silence a young man's dark tranquility is broken by a great bird made of fire and indescribable beauty. She folded her wings around him, enveloping him in her warmth.

"Will you fight to save others from this very fate?" She asked him simply in a docile tone.

Zenta's eyelids fluttered open to a blinding light, meeting it with a stern look, "If it will keep them from feeling this sadness that echoes in my heart..." His hand balled into a fist over his heart, the veins of his arm bulging in response, "Everything was taken from me. I will not let this happen to others who don't deserve it!

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><p>Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light. Everyone loved the light. Then people began to fight over it. They wanted the light for themselves. And darkness was born in their hearts. The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts. It covered everything, and the world disappeared. But small fragments of the light survived... in the hearts of children. With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world. It's the world we live in now. But the true light sleeps, deep within the darkness. That's why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each other. But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open. And the true light will return.<p>

Great beast fought along the sides of light and darkness. They were called Eidolons. Empowered by the elements themselves, they were powerful allies. Still, even they lost their hearts but not to the darkness... Some were able to free themselves and seek out those that could help light and darkness. Some found their place in children's hearts and there they rested.

Until today...


	2. Beat I

**Chapter One**

Rebirth by Sleep

The sound of crackling electricity, hissing steam and pumping pistons filled the ears of several young boys.

They woke to a familiar mix of sensation, the first being the cool ground against their cheeks. No longer floating in an endless void of darkness, the sensation of gravity was strange to say the least but comforting.

One of them finally begun to stir from the slight pressure he felt. As strange as they were, he fought to remain in the comfortable embrace of his dreams. Alas, the siren call of metal on metal and the sweet melody of dancing sparks denied him that. With that, the young boy was forced back into the waking world.

Christopher groaned for a bit as his arms tried to raise his body. It felt like an eternity since he had done so. He considered standing but quickly found it to be too much of a hassle to try; he settled for simply sitting up. Soon stretching and yawning loudly, he raised his glasses to rub the morning fog left in his sleepy eyes.

Tyson grunted as he tossed, trying to find a comfortable position in the shallow crater all of them laid in, "Five more minutes..." He tucked his arm under his head, finally realizing he wasn't floating anymore. The plethora of sounds caused him to rolled onto his back, stretching and arching his back against the cool ground. He yawned, sitting up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, "You know, I always thought I'd be a lot older before I woke up on a cold floor not knowing where I was or how long I'd been out..."

Lexin moaned as his senses came back to him. The quiet humming turned into mechanical rumbling as the sound became clearer. He sat up before even trying to open his eyes and slapped his cheeks a couple times. His eyes stung as they adjusted to the light, as if he had been sleeping forever but he was sure only moments had passed. Before his vision cleared, he heard his long-time friend, Tyson, making jokes. He laughed, standing up slowly and looked around. His body felt like a ton of bricks but his lips still turned to a smile, "Heh... I'm pretty sure it's impossible to drink as much as I think I must have to feel this bad."

Cody rolled over to his side, facing the others. He propped himself up with an elbow while resting his head in his hand, "Jeez guys, could you keep it down? Tryin' to get some extra shut eye over here." He smirked capriciously, "Even it feels like I've been asleep forever... ya know?" The sounds of the machinery were like a lullaby for the young mechanic. Though, he looked passed his friends and began to examined the room.

Copper tubes lined the walls, all leading to what looked like a heart shaped..., "Keyhole...? Where the hell are we?" He continued to look around, noting a pair of control panels sitting on opposite ends of the platform they were on, as well as a two sets of stairs leading down both sides. Finally, he noticed all of them were laying in a shallow crater. A battle was definitely fought here and what a fight it must have been.


End file.
